When a dog is injured or ill
Your safety first, then the right phone call. A dog in pain may bite, and that is not its fault.
The first five minutes
When you find an injured animal, the first thing to think about is your own safety. A dog in pain may bite even someone it knows; that is a reflex, not malice.
If it is in traffic, put your hazard lights on and make the area safe — as much as you can do without putting yourself in danger.
Then make two calls: your district municipality’s veterinary unit, and the nearest vet clinic. Warning the clinic in advance saves the minutes you would otherwise lose on arrival.
If you have to move the animal, use a thick blanket and try not to do it alone. Where a fracture is possible, use the blanket as a stretcher rather than dragging.
What to look for
None of this is a diagnosis. It is here so you can tell what will not wait; the decisions belong to the vet who sees the dog.
- What cannot wait?
- Bleeding that does not stop; being hit by a car, even if the dog looks fine; difficulty breathing; a tight, swollen abdomen; a seizure or loss of consciousness; collapse or inability to stand; vomiting or diarrhoea with blood; any chance it swallowed something toxic. In all of these the answer is the clinic, now.
- It is limping but walking. Can it wait?
- A mild limp can settle within hours. But if the dog will not put the foot down at all, if the leg hangs, if there is swelling or an open wound, or if the limp is still there the next day, get it seen. On a dog living outdoors a small wound can become flyblown within days; do not wait for it to sort itself out.
- What should I put on the wound?
- Ideally nothing. Beyond rinsing with clean water, do not use ointments, antiseptics or human medicines from the cupboard — some are toxic to dogs and most make it harder for the vet to assess the wound. If it is bleeding, press with a clean cloth and set off.
- It will not let me near. What can I do?
- Do not force it. Cornering a frightened, hurting dog takes both of you somewhere worse. Keep it in sight, call the municipality and the clinic, share the location. Sometimes leaving the catching to someone with the right equipment is the best help you can give.
If it is near Beytepe, write to us too
Send the location and a photo. We are a student society, not a 24-hour service — but we will do what we can.
More in this guide
Dog advice- When you find a dog in the streetLost, abandoned, or living there already? Stop and look first — let the dog come to you.Read
- How you can help street dogsNot every kind of help is taking a dog home: clean water, the right call, a safe feeding spot.Read
- If you are thinking of adoptingAdopting is not just taking a dog home: the first day, food, the vet and training.Read
- When you come across puppiesPicking up a puppy you find alone is usually not a kindness. The mother is probably close by.Read
- If a dog goes for you, or bitesDo not run, do not shout, do not stare. If you are bitten, wash the wound and see a doctor without delay.Read